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THE TRAVELLER6. 



Amoiiff the Pueblo Indians 



■b 



CARL EICKEMEYER 

AND 

LILIAN WESTCOTT EICKEMEYER 



Ili ustrated with Photographs Taken by the Authors 




NEW YORK 
THE MERRIAM COMPANY 

67 Fifth Avenue 




y4 



^ 



^ 



f VJ> 



Copyright, iSq?, ry 
THE MERRIAM COMPANY. 

E ^^ 



tro 

THE MEMORY OF OUR FATHER 

RUDOLF EICKEMEYER 

THIS VOLUME 
IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

To San Ildefonso, . . . . . , . .11 
Five Days in Cochiti, o ...... 57 

Life at Santo Domingo, 107 

Taos 135 



LIST or ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The Travellers, 

The Outfit, 

Bed of the Tesuque, 

Mexican Settlement, 

San Ildefonso Pueblo, 

Mesquite in Bloom, . 

EsTUFA AT San Ildefonso 

Planting Dance, 

View from the Divide, 

Noon-day Camp, 

Camp on the Mesa, . 

Descending from the Mesa, 

Mrs. Juan de Jesus Herrara, 

Gallo, 

Gallo, ... 

Juan, .... 

School-House at Cochiti 

School-Children, 

Cochiti Indian, 



F) 



PAGE 

outispicce. 
15 
19 
23 

27 

31 
35 
39 
43 
47 
51 
55 
61 

65 
69 

73 
77 
83 
93 



Xtst of miustratione. 



<- Primitive Ploughs, . 
L Pena Blanca Church, 

Corral at Santo Dominco, 

A Street in Santo Domingo, 

In Holiday Attire, . 

Indian Home, . 

In the CaNon, . 

In the Fields, . 

Weary of Work, 

Father and Son, 

Taos Bucks, 

Taos Pueblo, 

EsTUFA at Taos, 

Ruins of the Church, 

Taos Indian, 

Taos Church, 

Returning from the Fields, 

Indian Plough Team, 

Astray, .... 

A Youthful Dancer, 

Navajoes, .... 



PAGE 

99 

[03 

1 1 

15 

19 

23 

31 

:39 

[43 

147 

51 

55 

59 

[63 

[67 

[71 

75 

79 

■83 

[87 

191 



TO SAN ILDErONSO. 



TO SAN ILDEFONSO. 



ON a spring evening, just 
at sunset, the little Western 
train landed us in quaint old 
Santa Fe, the city of the 
Holy Faith. Around the 
door of the station some 
Mexicans were loitering in 
their usual lazy fashion, as 
they watched the passengers 
alight and enter stages in 
waiting to take them to the hotels. Then, their 
curiosity being satisfied, they lapsed into their 
former state of indifference and waited for the next 
excitement. 

We had journeyed from New York to New Mexico 
for the purpose of visiting the Pueblo Indians, and 
for a day or two after our arrival in vSanta Fe were 
kept busy preparing for the Indian trip, which we 

13 




Bmonci tbc pueblo IFnMans. 

decided to take in a prairie schooner, such as the early 
Western settlers used in travelling from place to place. 
This wagon was obtained from an old Jew, from whom 
we also hired two horses, whose appearance at the 
start indicated they would be unable to finish the trip. 
We were assured, however, that they would carry us 
through, in spite of their protruding teeth, prominent 
ribs, and swollen knee-joints, which seemed to point 
to the contrary. Our wagon was loaded with a little 
camp stove and cooking utensils, two cameras, a bag 
filled with provisions, and a bag containing blankets. 
These necessary articles, together with a collection of 
firearms, completed our oatfi.t and gave us an air of 
comfort as well as safety. 

Thus equipped, the journey began about fi.ve o'clock 
on a beautiful morning, leaving the old town, with its 
sleeping inhabitants, in the distance, as we travelled 
on toward the north, hoping to reach San Ildefonso, 
a pueblo about twenty-seven miles from Santa Fe, ere 
nightfall. 

The road over which we passed during the day had 

on either side deep arroyos forfned by heavy rainfalls 

which come suddenly in cloud-bursts, washing out in 

14 



Zo San 1H^cfon0O. 

the soil deep gullies with perpendicular sides twenty 
feet or more in depth. Along the roadside and back 
through the country grew the scrub cedar with its 
tiny berries and rich green coloring. Sage bushes of 
a lighter green, and little clumps of buffalo grass, 
sprang up here and there, giving a grayish cast to 
the whole country. 

We jogged slowly along toward the divide which 
forms the watershed between the Pecos and the upper 
portion of the Rio Grande, and when that point was 
reached such a picture was presented to our enrap- 
tured gaze as is seldom seen, and when once seen is 
never forgotten. Looking northward, lofty hills 
stood out in bold relief, the brighter coloring of those 
in the foreground gradually fading into the delicate 
opalescent tints of those near the horizon, where they 
seemed to pale and fade away in the cloudless blue of 
the summer sky. To the eastward the Santa Fe 
Mountains, with their gorgeous coloring and snow- 
tipped peaks extending far into the blue ether, formed 
a breastwork over which the morning sun gradually 
rose, shedding a golden glory over the country as far 

as the eye could scan. To the west, and rivalling in 

17 



Bmong tbc ipueblo llnDians. 

beauty those at our right hand, extended in unbroken 
line the jamez Mountains, with purple bases, and deli- 
cate blue tips reaching far into the unfathomable sky. 
Following the Tesuque, a small stream running by 
the roadside, we neared the pueblo of that name; but 
as the population is small and the place not of special 
interest, our stay there was a short one, our destina- 
tion being San Ildefonso, some distance further north. 
Beyond Tesuque were several small Mexican settle- 
ments, their one-story adobe houses so near the color 
of the soil as to be almost imperceptible until one is 
close upon them. Surrounding some of these houses 
were prosperous fruit ranches, obtaining moisture 
from esaques, or irrigating ditches, which carry the 
water of the neighboring mountain streams and rivers 
into the ranches, and take the place of rain, which is 
seldom seen in this part of the country. Along the 
roadside, here and there, were small wooden crosses 
upheld by stones piled one upon the other. These 
crosses, we afterward learned, marked the places 
where coffins had been rested while being carried 
from the houses to their final resting-places. 

We neared San Ildefonso a little after noon, and on 

i8 



Zo San 1[l5efon0o. 

the outskirts of the pneblo saw many Indians in 
bright-colored garments, ploughing in the fields. 
They presented a most picturesque appearance, mov- 
ing in and out among the young corn, driving yokes 
of oxen drawing primitive Indian ploughs. Others 
were at work on the esaques that supply the fields 
with water. The construction of these irrigating 
ditches takes considerable time, skill, and much 
labor, as they sometimes carry water from mountain 
streams many miles away to the section under cultiva- 
tion. They are, therefore, made quite deep and very 
narrow, to allow as little loss of water by evaporation 
as possible. The fields are flooded once a week, and 
seemed to be in a most flourishing condition. 

Proceeding a little farther, we entered the sunny, 
dusty plaza, lined on all sides by the typical Indian 
home, a two-story adobe house, the second story set- 
ting a little back and having the roof of the first as a 
sort of front yard. Most of these houses are entered 
by small doors leading from the plaza into a large 
front room, though some Indians retain the old cus- 
tom which existed when the pueblos were attacked 
by wandering tribes of Apaches and Navajoes that 



Bmong tbe pueblo ITnMan^. 

roamed through the country, giving the peaceful vil- 
lage Indians much anxiety and fear for their safety. 
They consequently have no doors to their houses, but 
enter the lower rooms through a hatchway in the 
roof. In front of all the houses are rudely constructed 
ladders, by means of which access is gained to the 
upper rooms, and up these rickety ladders children of 
all ages and sizes ascend, those of a larger growth 
carrying on their backs little ones whose mothers feel 
not the slightest anxiety as they view from a distance 
the perilous ascent. 

We drove to the home of a thrifty Indian who 
speaks fairly well the English language, and were 
most cordially greeted by his wife, who, on seeing 
our approach, hastened down the ladder to welcome 
us. (Jn entering the abode the first objects noticed 
were the pictures that hung on the white walls of the 
rooms. They were of a purely religious nature, rep- 
resenting Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. 
They were painted on wood and were brought from 
Mexico many years ago. vSo old are they that they 
have become dimmed and faded by the ravages of 
time, but are none the less sacred in the eves of the 



XLo San HlOcfonso. 

owner on that account. In a back room, which is the 
living room of the family, were two fire-places. One 
of these was assigned to ns, while in the other our 
hostess prepared her noonday meal of tortillas, dried 
beef, and coffee. It was a most interesting sight to 
see her seated before the little corner fire-place mak- 
ing tortillas, a concoction of flour and water mixed 
together and kneaded as our bread is. When it was 
considered the right consistence, it was rolled out in 
flat round discs like pancakes and cooked on a piece 
of stone upheld by an iron tripod over a blazing wood 
fire. They required several turnings, and when fin- 
ished we were presented with a sample of the morn- 
ing's baking, but the toughened mass was not very 
palatable. We in turn gave them some of our provi- 
sions, which they ate with a keen relish as they sat on 
the hard cemented floor in a semicircle. 

After enjoying our meal, we decided to go the 
rounds of the pueblo and see the various places of in- 
terest to be found there. Our host conducted us first 
to the estufa, or council house, situated just outside 
the main plaza. It is here that all important ques- 
tions are decided and where the Indians practise for 

25 



Bmong tbe ipucblo IfnOians. 

their dances. The estufa, like the other houses in the 
pueblo, is made of adobe, but unlike them, being 
circular in form, it is a conspicuous figure in the vil- 
lage. The building is lighted only by means of an 
opening in the roof. This opening also serves as 
entrance to the place. Having climbed the steps 
that lead to the roof, we entered through the hatch- 
way and descended by a ladder, the poles of which 
protruded high above the building. All that could 
be seen in the dimly-lighted room was the fire-place, 
in the centre directly under the ladder, and an 
adobe settee projecting from the wall of the build- 
ing. Finding very little of interest in the bare, 
dark room, we wended our way in the direction of 
the home of the governor to pay our respects to that 
celebrity. 

He was seated in the front room of his little house, 
busily engaged making moccasins. We watched him 
for some time at this humble occupation, greatlv in- 
terested in his work. He pierced small holes in the 
soles, and corresponding ones in the uppers, through 
which he ran pieces of sinew. The bead work for 

which the Indian is famous is done in a similar way. 

26 



;ro San 1Il&cfon60. 

"When we had become well versed in the art of shoe- 
making, the governor left his work and took us into 
an inner room, where his wife was grinding wheat. 
She was kneeling before a slanting stone slab, and 
with a small oblong-shaped stone in her hand she 
rubbed the wheat between the two in a way similar 
to rubbing clothes on a washboard. This work is 
always done by the women. 

By the aid of our interpreter cjuite a lengthy con- 
versation was carried on with the governor, in which 
the affairs of the pueblo were discussed. The gov- 
ernment was one of the first subjects inquired into, 
and we were greatly surprised to find such a complex 
form existing. It is twofold in character, resembling 
both the monarchial and republican. The former is 
exemplified in the office of cacique, or chief, who was 
originally appointed for life by the governor of New 
Mexico, to be succeeded by his eldest son. The lat- 
ter, or republican form, is shown by the annual elec- 
tion of a governor and twelve councilmen, whose 
business it is to direct the affairs of the pueblo and to 
decide all important questions that may arise. They 

are second in authority only to the cacique, who has 

29 



Bnioiui tbc ipucblo llnDtans. 

power to veto any decision not to his liking. The 
officer next in power is the fiscal, who looks after the 
religious affairs of the pneblo, and instructs the boys 
and girls in the tenets of Catholicism. He is ap- 
pointed by the cacique, whose duty it also is to nomi- 
nate three candidates for the office of governor and 
three for that of war chief, one of whom, in each 
case, is elected by the people to fill the office. The 
duty of the war chief is similar to that of our police 
justice. He has power to decide all questions of 
right and wrong that may arise, and to impose a fine 
of grain or money upon the offender, according to 
the magnitude of the offence. The election of gov- 
ernor, councilmen and war chief takes place each 
year at harvest time in the estufa, where the men and 
all boys capable of working in the fields congregate 
to vote orally for their favorite candidates. 

We were, of course, anxious to attend a business 
meeting and see the Indian conduct it, but they are 
very reticent concerning their council meetings, never 
allowing outsiders to be present. Seeing our disap- 
pointment, the governor sought to conciliate us by in- 
viting us to be present that evening to witness the 



^0 San 1[lC>cfon0o. 

practice for a dance which was to take place the fol- 
lowing morning in the plaza. 

Dancing is one of the principal pastimes of the 
Indian and one very often indulged in, so that any 
one, making even a limited stay at a pueblo, is likely 
to witness this most interesting sight before his de- 
parture. 

When the time arrived to join the dancers, we 
walked toward the estufa, where the smoke and light 
from the camp-fire below could be seen coming out 
of the roof through the hatchway. The bucks were 
chanting, and the beating of the drum to give the 
dancers time reached us with muffled sound. Fol- 
lowing our guide up the steps, we descended the lad- 
der through clouds of smoke and found ourselves in 
the midst of the august assemblage. It was hard to 
imagine that the room, with the dim light from the 
camp-fire shining on the grotesque forms of the 
dancers, was the same we had visited during the 
afternoon, so great was the difference in its appear- 
ance. On the adobe settee sat the squaws, their 
papooses either in their arms or wrapped in blankets 
lying on the floor at their feet. The old bucks were 

33 



among tbc ipucblo Hn&lans. 

seated on the floor in two lines opposite each other, 
with the drummer at their head facint^ the fire. The 
younger bucks or warriors, and the squaws, formed in 
line two abreast : first two bucks, then two squaws, and 
so on, dancing to the time given by the drummer and 
the chanters. The scene presented was ghostly, the 
dimly- lighted, smoky atmosphere giving a certain 
weirdness to the shadowy moving forms. 

As the dance progressed some of the children, who 
dance quite as earnestly as their parents, joined in, 
and young and old went through the movements with 
great activity. The time of the dancing is regular 
for intervals, then there will be one or two beats left 
out, the dancers all the while keeping time perfectly 
with their feet. When the line, headed by two of the 
most athletic bucks, had encircled the hall, the two 
lines faced each other, spread out, crossed over, then 
swung around and returned to their original positions. 
There is quite a perceptible difference in the dancing 
of the buck and squaw: the former lifts his feet high 
from the ground as he goes through the tiresome 

O too 

motions that constitute his part of the programme, 

while the squaw simply shuffles her feet along, sway- 

34 



Zo San iriDefonso. 

ing her body from side to side, and holding ont her 
hands as if offering something in prayer. 

The dance practice was over at midnight, when, 
well pleased with the novel entertainment, we returned 
to the prairie schooner which had been drawn up in 
front of the house in which our dinner had been 
cooked at the little corner fire-place. 

Soon all was still, and sleep reigned throughout the 
pueblo. On returning from the estufa the dancers 
had wearily thrown themselves down on pallets that 
lay on the ground in front of the houses where the 
other members of their families were already resting, 
with the deep blue star-lit sky overhead for a canopy. 
vSlowly the waning moon rose in all the majesty of 
her silvery beauty, and as the mellow rays of light 
touched the prostrate forms of the sleepers, they 
seemed to work a perfect transformation, softening 
the hard lines on many faces. 

We were awakened next morning at sunrise by the 

governor as he stood in the centre of the plaza calling 

to the people to prepare for the dance to take place 

directly after breakfast. Immediately all was astir, 

as those who were to take part in the festivity hast- 

37 



IHmoiui tbc ipucblo IFnDians. 

ened to attire themselves in suitable costume. In a 
short time gaudily-arrayed figures appeared on the 
scene, coming first from one house, then from another, 
and wended their way in the direction of the estufa, 
where the participants congregated previous to their 
appearance in the plaza. 

When the dancers had collected and the word was 
given to start, the first set, about thirty in number, filed 
from the estufa into the plaza, marching in lines two 
abreast. They were followed by a band of chanters, 
consisting of the bucks who were too old to dance. 
The dancers were beautifully decorated. The bucks 
were stripped to the waist, their hands and part of 
the forearms painted white, from which ran a line of 
white spots to the shoulder, and then down to the 
small of the back, resembling the fallow deer. On 
the upper part of the arms were armlets of rawhide, 
also painted white, through which were stuck green 
sprigs of the cottonwood tree. Around the waist was 
a white belt or sash of wool, having large tassels on 
the ends, and holding in place an embroidered skirt 
reaching nearly to the knee. White knee breeches 
were worn under the skirt. Around the left leg was 

-^8 



^0 San IFlOetonso. 

a band of worsted tied in a bow, and around the right 
a string of bells. From the back of the belt hung the 
skin of the red fox. White moccasins, with a decora- 
tion of skunk skin at the heel, completed the costume. 
Each carried in his right hand rattles made from 
gourds which grow wild in large quantities near the 
Indian villages; and in the left, branches of the Cot- 
tonwood tree. 

The squaw wore a head decoration of peculiar de- 
sign, made of a thin flat board, in shape similar to 
the fa9ade of the Indian church. It had three ser- 
rated vertical projections, with an open space in the 
centre as if for a bell. It was painted white, with 
borders of green and yellow, and from the peaks 
floated the feathers of the wild turkey. The dress 
was of black woollen material, and hung a little below 
the knee. It was gathered over the right shoulder 
and again under the left arm, leaving the arms and 
one shoulder bare. A woollen belt of unique design 
and bright coloring offset the costume and relieved 
the blackness of the dress. 

On the arrival of the dancers in the plaza, the 
drummer took position beside them, and at his rear 

41 



Bmong tbe pueblo UnMans. 

stood the group of chanters facing one another. The 
dance, which was much the same as that of the night 
before, had not progressed far when another set of 
about the same number filed into the plaza from the 
other end of the pueblo and went through the same 
performance. 

We spent the remainder of the day taking photo- 
graphs of the place and of some of the people, and in 
walking to an old butte, where, it is claimed, the 
pueblo was originally situated ; but like the old cliff 
dwellings, the former homes of the Pueblo Indians, 
the place was deserted. It could be seen, however, 
from arrowheads and old pieces of pottery found 
there, that at some remote period, during the prehis- 
toric ages, the place must have been inhabited. 

During the evening we had several callers, among 
whom was a young Indian of good type, who could 
speak English as well as Spanish and his native 
Indian language. It is a curious fact that the lan- 
guage spoken in pueblos situated within a short dis- 
tance of each other differs, while sometimes in two, 
many miles apart, the same is spoken. Fortunately 

all the Pueblo Indians speak Spanish, so that they 

42 



XLo San fll^efonso. 

may converse one with the other, even though their 
native languages be different. Being in doubt as to 
whether the pueblos we intended visiting had Eng- 
lish-speaking Indians, we decided to take, as inter- 
preter, Juan, the young Indian, who seemed de- 
lighted with the idea of making a third to our party. 
He told us he had made several trips to the different 
pueblos and had at one time spent a year among the 
Utes, whose customs he still followed. His long 
black hair was parted in Ute style, and on special 
occasions he used quite a quantity of war paint. He 
was unmarried, but told us he expected to take the 
all-important step at harvest time, when he would 
have saved five dollars, the amount necessary to pay 
the Mexican priest to perform the ceremony. The 
prospect of earning the live dollars and winning the 
maid before harvest time probably made the parting 
with her less hard. Whether that were the case 
or not, there were no tears or sad looks either from 
Juan or his lady love when w^e left San Ildefonso the 
following day, just as the sun rose over the little 
village. 

The morning was beautiful. At our right, and run- 

45 



among tbe pueblo IFn'Mans. 

ning- by the pueblo, the Rio Grande flowed, the clear 
sparkling water dancing in the sunlight as it hurried 
on in its course through the cafion to the gulf. A 
soft mist seemed to overhang the neighboring hills 
like a mantle of gauze, through which the varied tints 
shone in subdued coloring and ethereal beauty. 

We started through Alamo caiion, which runs par- 
allel with White Rock caiion, containing the bed of 
the Rio Grande. The two are divided in places by 
high ledges of rock, the top of which, for about a 
thickness of one hundred feet, is of volcanic origin; 
and below it are strata of different kinds of rock, sand, 
and clay, varying from white to light red and blue, 
with all the intervening shades so perfectly blended 
as to make it impossible to detect the joining of one 
color with another. The rocks average in height 
about three hundred feet, and above them, on the west, 
tower the vSan Ildefonso range, where the Indian 
boys from the pueblo hunt deer and antelope. 

The trip up the caiion was like driving through a 
park; the cactus in bloom with its yellow, white and 
red flowers, and the valley covered with fragrant bal- 
sam, sage bushes, and clumps of buffalo grass. There 

46 



^0 San lIlDcfonso. 

was good shooting all the way, the cotton-tails and 
wild doves being plentiful, while an occasional jack 
rabbit ran in and out among the sage bushes, giving 
us a lively chase for him. 

About noon we struck camp just oif the road. After 
unloading the wagon and setting up the little stove, 
Juan started up the caiion toward the Rio Grande for 
water. He had been gone but a short time when a 
strange noise was heard. Gradually the sound came 
nearer, and coming toward us, down the caiion, was 
a flock of goats, sheep and lambs, driven by a Mexi- 
can. The driver could not speak our language nor 
we his, but by signs he was made to understand that 
we wanted to purchase a lamb, and he seemed very 
willing to let us have one. When Juan returned with 
the water he played the part of butcher, killing and 
dressing the lamb and preparing it to be cooked. 
Soon dinner was on the fire, and in about twenty 
minutes from the time the lamb was running around 
we were eating him. 

Our camp for the night was behind a clump of 
trees, near the narrow-gauge railroad which runs 
through this part of the country; and after supper 

49 



Bmonci tbc ipucblo IfiiMans. 

onr bed in the wagon was prepared by .spreading a 
pair of blankets on the floor for a mattress, and using 
a pair for covering — then, putting the canvas wagon 
cover over the hoops, the bed was ready for us. We 
tied the horses to a tree near by, and entered our 
sleeping apartment, while Juan, wrapping his blanket 
around him, lay on the ground by the side of the 
wagon . 

We arose at sunrise next morning, and, after en- 
ioying our Ijreakfast of lamb, potatoes and coffee, 
journeyed upward through a very rough and moun- 
tainous ct)untr\-, broken up by high hills and deep 
arroyos. About noon we struck camp on the dusty 
road beside a little Mexican settlement. An old 
iNIexican, who brought us some water, sat beside the 
fence watching us prepare dinner, which we ate sit- 
ting under the wagon, to protect us from the heat of 
the sun. 

Beyond this settlement a steep hill led to the bare 
and barren mesa, where there was not even a sage 
bush in sight. Prairie on all sides of us, and we, like 
tiny specks upon a great ocean, sailed on and on with 

nothing visible but prairie and sky. Slowly the sun 

50 



^0 San IflDcfonso. 

rode on in glory toward the west, and, as it sank to 
rest below the horizon, twinkling stars came out one 
by one, until the sky, that a short time before was all 
aglow with the sun's roseate rays, was illumined by 
the lesser light of the stars, v/hich looked protectingly 
down on us as we slept. During the night the wind 
came up and blew across the prairie with terrific 
force, almost taking the wagon cover with it in its 
mad sweep ov^er the mesa, and it was not until the 
cover had been tied down with a strong rope that we 
felt at all secure. Then, pinning a mackintosh over 
the opening at the foot to keep the wind out, we tried 
to settle ourselves, but it was not possible to sleep 
long. As there were no trees around, the horses had 
to be tied to the back of the wagon, and first one, 
then the other, would jar it, while occasionally a 
horse's head was thrust under the cover as he tried to 
get at our feet. Next morning the mackintosh that 
had been used as a curtain w^as found chewed into 
ribbons, and the horse had quieted down. 

Our supply of water was so low that there was very 
little coffee for breakfast, and we dispensed altogether 
with our usual morning's ablution, a ceremony we 

53 



among tbe f»ueblo IfniMans. 

were often obliged to omit during the trip. How- 
ever, Juan assured ns he could get water a little way 
down the road, but, after driving on hour after hour 
and still no water, we began to doubt his knowledge 
of the country. vStill he persisted, "It is right down 
there." 

The Indian has no idea of distance. One time, 
when asked how far a certain place was, Juan replied, 
"Three days with burros and one day with a horse." 
Our hope ncnvwas that our distance from water would 
not be reckoned with burros, for as the sun shone 
more brightly our tliirst became almost unbearable. 
Still we drove on, and no water. 

Our descent from the mesa to the plain below was 

over a steep, narrow and rough road winding around 

the edge of a cliff about nine hundred feet in height. 

Applying the brakes, we reached the foot in safety, 

and to our great joy and relief a tiny stream was 

running along by the roadside. We arrived here just 

in time, for the little stream gradually grew less and 

less, and then vanished altogether. Juan told us it 

would appear again next morning, and that this was 

quite a common occurrence. 

54 



i-l 










DESCENDING FROM THE MESA. 



II. 



nVE DAYS IN cocniTi, 



SAN JUAN'S DAY. 




OUR arrival at Cochiti, late 
in the afternoon, was wit- 
nessed by several squaws of 
the villaofe, who were fiUinir 
water jars down at the rio. 
They paused in their work as 
we drew near and forded the 
river, greeting- us in the usual 
friendly manner; then, with 
their burdens skilfully bal- 
anced on their heads, they passed on up the sandy 
hill that forms the approach to the little settlement. 
Half-way up the hill were fruit orchards, in the 
corners of which were cribs built on the ends of 
long poles. They looked like small rustic summer 
houses; but instead of being used for pleasure, the}' 
were guard-houses, where some of the men keep 

watch at night over the fruit near by. 

59 



Binonc; tbe pueblo irn&fans. 

Cocliiti has a population of nearly four hundred 
Indians and about half as many Mexicans. It is the 
only pueblo we visited having a Mexican settlement, 
it being contrary to the wishes of the Government to 
have the two races quartered together. But some- 
how or other the Mexican element has worked its 
way into Cochiti, and in several instances the Indian 
and Mexican have intermarried, making the sepa- 
ration of the races impossible. 

Juan conducted us to the home of a friend — Juan 
de Jesus Herrara — w^ho with his family, consisting of 
an aged father and mother, a wife and three children, 
lived in the little adobe house that for the follow- 
ing few days was our home. One of the two rooms 
on the ground floor was assigned to us for use as a 
bedroom, kitchen and reception-room during our 
stay. We spread the blankets on the floor in one 
corner, and our bedroom was ready for use; light- 
ing a fire on the hearth and preparing our evening 
meal made the kitchen a reality, while entertaining 
half a dozen old bucks and squaws who had been 
drawn to the spot out of curiosity gave the place 

quite the air of a reception-room. 

60 




MRS. JUAN DE JESUS HERRARA. 



San Sunn's H)ar. 

Our visitors seated themselves on the floor, watch- 
ing ns prepare supper. Unfortunately we could not 
converse with them, as they could not speak English, 
and Juan, our interpreter, had gone out to see the 
place and to make friends among the Indians. It 
was a strange sight. The little cellar-like room had 
only the light of a single candle shining dimly 
through it, and the smoke from cigarettes the bucks 
were enjoying made the forms appear almost ghostly 
in their indistinctness. When our visitors had par- 
taken of crackers and coffee, their curiosity being 
fully, and their appetites partially, satisfied, they 
left. 

We retired early, but the place was so noisy that 
it was impossible to sleep. At sundown the church 
bell had rung for about an hour, after wdiich a shot- 
gun was fired in the plaza. Alore bell -ringing fol- 
lowed, and the gun was fired twice; still more bell- 
ringing, and the gun was fired a third time. This 
alternate ringing and firing, together with violin- 
playing by some j\Iexicans who wandered through 
the plaza, making noisy demonstrations all the while, 

ushered in wSan Juan's Day; and at daybreak the fol- 

63 



Hmona tbc ipuctilc UnJMans. 

lowing- morning (Sunday) the whole community were 
ready to participate in the celebration. 

The little adobe church M'ith its wooden cross 
Avas the scene of the earliest activity, as old and 
young, Indian and ^Mexican, wended their way in 
the direction of the sanctuary to be present at mass, 
conducted by a ^^lexican priest from a neighboring 
town . 

We entered with the rest, and found ourselves in a 
large, bare room with cemented floor, on which there 
were no seats. The side walls of the church were 
adorned from door to altar with small crosses, between 
which had been placed alternately candlesticks and 
pictures of the saints. On either side of the altar 
were paintings of Christ, considered of great value, 
and claimed to have been brought from ]\Iexico hun- 
dreds of years ago. On the altar, which is surrounded 
by a wooden railing of rude workmanship, were can- 
dles and images of the saints. 

We were greatlv interested to see what the iuLre- 
nuity of the Indian had accomplished in the art of in- 
terior church decoration. On the rafters were placed 

good-sized logs, faced off, the flat side being turned 

64 



San Juan's Bag. 

down, and on this flattened surface were ori^crinal 
characteristic paintings and drawings of bear and 
buffalo hunted by Indians. The dimly-lighted church 
with its close atmosphere had a sepulchral appear- 
ance, and we were glad to get once more in the open 
air and leave the Indian to hear mass. 

Later during the morning, going into the gov- 
ernor's house, we came suddenly upon a most inter- 
esting sight. In the centre of the room, which had 
been cleared of everything but an olla of water, sat 
seventeen bucks, forming a circle. They were singing 
in a sort of nasal twang, and at our entrance kept on 
with the inharmonious strains, not so much as look- 
ing at us. One of the bucks had a drum resembling 
a good-sized cask. These drums are made from solid 
pieces of wood, which the Indians hollow out and 
tightly draw drumheads of sheepskin over the ends. 
Opposite the drummer sat the war chief, a vicious- 
looking fellow, wearing a belt of Winchester car- 
tridges. He sat there erectly, not a muscle in his 
body moving except those he necessarily used in pro- 
ducing the nasal twang that constituted the song. 

All the while they smoked cigarettes rolled in corn 

67 



among tbe pueblo IfnDians. 

husks, the smoking not interfering in the least with 
the singing. 

They sang thus until noon, when it was time to pre- 
pare for the games which were to take place in the 
plaza after dinner. The festivities began with the 
celebrated game of gallo, which was most thoroughly 
enjoyed by all but the poor rooster, whose unearthly 
cries elicited not the slightest feeling of sympathy 
among the many spectators assembled on the house- 
tops near by, keenly enjoying the cruel sport and 
eagerly applauding when a good point was made by 
the contestants. Every young Indian and Mexican 
who could procure a horse of any kind joined in the 
game. It was played by two at a time, an Indian and 
a Mexican evenly matched. The two came together 
in the centre of the plaza, where a live rooster was 
brought, his feet tied together with rawhide. Each 
took hold of one of the legs, and, at the word given 
by the governor of the pueblo, pulled, trying to get 
possession of the bird, which all the while was screech- 
ing as if in terrible agony. The contestants violently 
swayed from side to side, pulling with all theii* 

strength. Finally, the Indian gained an advantage, 

68 



San Juan's Sag. 

and, spurring his pon3^ ran off with the rooster, nearly 
dragging his opponent from his horse, amid wild 
shouts from the excited spectators on the roofs. It 
seemed as if the bird must be torn apart, but, besides 
losing its breath and a few feathers, it stood the 
ordeal very well. 

The Mexican then rode to the centre of the plaza 
and faced the audience, while the Indian started at 
one end with the rooster in his right hand. He 
rode by the Mexican at full speed, and in passing 
struck him over the head with it. The Mexican 
tried to catch the bird, but failed. They fought 
in this way for some time, until both were covered 
with feathers and blood from the now lifeless roos- 
ter, but neither seemed to gain much advantage, 
both being exhausted. The rest of the horse- 
men standing near, wishing for a chance, rode 
np and separated them. In the break which fol- 
lowed, the one with the rooster started off at full 
speed for his home, closely followed by the rest of 
the horsemen, who tried to get possession of it, 
but he succeeded in reaching home without parting 
company with the poor lifeless thing, thus becoming 

71 



among tbe ipueblo IFtiManB. 

the nappy possessor of the bird and the victor of 
the game. 

Another o-ame was started by two others, and so on 
until each had a chance to wrestle for a rooster, which 
in some cases passed through many hands before it 
was finally won. The programme was carried out sys- 
tematically, as if it had been carefully prepared. 

After finishing the game of gallo the horsemen 
lined up one by one and rode by another live rooster 
that had been placed in sand with only his head in 
sight. The idea was to pick him up while riding by. 
Each rider eagerly watched the others as they reached 
from the saddle and tried to catch the bird. Finally 
one succeeded, and, grasping the head, ran off with 
the rooster, followed by all the horsemen. He rode 
out of the plaza and over the prairie, up deep arroyos, 
and back through the several streets of the pueblo, in 
his efforts to elude his followers, and, reaching home 
with it, the bird was his. 

Next in order came foot races by some of the young 
bucks, after which some girls tried their skill at run- 
ning. 

It being San Juan's Day, every one by the name of 

72 



San Juan's Dag. 

Juan was obliged to contribute something to be given 
to the people. Accordingly all articles were carried 
to the roof of one of the houses near by, and thrown 
down, one by one, into the crowd assembled below. 
Juan, possessing the name of the day, was told he 
must make a contribution as the others of that name 
did. Accordingly he took some birds he had previ- 
ously shot for our supper, and carried them to the 
house-top. All stood with upturned faces and out- 
stretched hands as one article after another fell into 
some grasping palm. The collection consisted of 
pieces of leather, bright bits of calico, birds, and tor- 
tillas. No one became the actual owner of anything 
until he reached home with it, and any one who could 
get an article away from another before he arrived 
at that place of safety was privileged to do so. This 
ended the celebration, and at sundown vSan Juan's 
Day was over. 

75 



A VISIT TO THE SCHOOL-HOUSE. 

At sunrise the following morning- the governor 
called loudly from his position in the centre of the 
pueblo, assigning to the men assembled in the door- 
ways the work they were to perform that day. As 
the different names were called the owners disap- 
peared within the houses to prepare for the work 
allotted to them, and hurried to the scene of action 
to do their share of the labor. 

After breakfast we decided to visit the school-house 
near by and see the little Indian children assembled 
there. Arriving early, we were most cordially wel- 
comed by the teacher, Mrs. Grozier, of Boston, the 
only white woman in Cochiti. 

It would be hard to find a more interesting place in 

the pueblo than the school-house, a one-story adobe 

building fitted up by the Government, under whose 

control the school is carried on. 

Of the thirty-two pupils enrolled upon the school 

76 



a \)i6it to tbc Scbool=bou0e. 

register the average daily attendance is about one- 
half the full number. The parents of the children, 
not realizing the benefits to be derived from a regular 
attendance, keep them at home on the slightest pro- 
vocation, to do any and all kinds of work. But, in 
spite of this drawback, the school seemed in a flourish- 
ing condition, and about nine o'clock the little bare- 
footed, scantily-clad children were seated at desks 
similar to those used in any well-regulated school- 
room, ready to begin the work of the day. 

While waiting for the little ones to become quiet we 
glanced around the room. In front, with the white 
wall for a background, hung the grand old Stars and 
Stripes, which, in spite of the dusky faces of the little 
ones and their unintelligible language when convers- 
ing with one another, gave us a pleasurable home- 
like feeling. On either side of the national emblem, 
and on the walls of the room, hung illustrated charts 
of various descriptions, to enable the little ones more 
readily to grasp the subjects intended for their study. 
On a blackboard at the left of the room was a draw- 
ing of a train of cars done by a little boy whose talent 
was clearly shown by this well-executed work. 

79 



-'%/, 



Bmonci tbc ipucblo KniMans?. 

In addition to the regular attendants of the school 
were several squaws who dropped in from time to 
time during the session, probably finding the school- 
rocm, with its evenly-boarded lloor and large open 
windows, a pleasant change from their own houses. 

When the children became sufficiently subdued to 
give attention to the work of the day, the opening 
exercises began. First the Lord's prayer was repeated 
in English, led by the teacher, whom the children 
follow^ed closely in broken accent, and with reverently 
bowed heads. "Come to Jesus'" was sung by the 
school, and some little voices were very effective as 
they joined in the sv/eet strains of the old hymn with 
the greatest of zeal and animatit)n. By the time the 
last verse was reached the room fairly rang with the 
enthusiastic efforts of the youthful songsters. The 
singing of two other pieces completed the exercises, 
and the children were ready to begin their lessons. 

A bright little boy was called upon to read, and 
from his second reader selected a piece called " The 
Boy and the Bubbles," his Spanish accent of the 
English words making his rendering of the piece very 

interesting. Next a letter from the same book was 

80 



B msit to tbe Scbool^bouse. 

read. It was dated "New York, December loth, 
1884," and headed "Dear Santa Claus." This beino- 
printed in script made the reading of it more difficult 
for the little fellow, but he got through the task 
very well, being helped over the harder words by his 
teacher. 

By this time all the children were anxious to show 
us their accomplishments, and there were half a dozen 
applicants to speak a piece. A little girl of seven was 
chosen as elocutionist, and she recited "Little bird, 
little bird up in a tree," etc. When she had finished 
another wanted to show us how well she could speak 
the same piece, which it seemed they all knew. And 
so we again heard about "Little bird," and were as 
much entertained as we had been the first time. 

Meanwhile many of the children had drawn pictures 
to which they had signed their names, and they 
proudly exhibited them to us, being greatly elated 
over any sign of approval we chanced to bestow upon 
them. 

Just at this point in the most interesting programme 

the teacher was called from the room to answer some 

call from a needy neighbor. Instantlv their studious 

81 



Bnionc} tbc pueblo ITnDlans. 

manner changed for one of play, and they were once 
more "little Indians," laughing and talking in their 
wonderful threefold language, a mixture of Indian, 
Spanish and English, sometimes in one sentence 
using words from all three languages. 

At one side of the room some little girls were gath- 
ered, all talking at the same time; but as they were 
conversing in a language unknown to us, we turned 
our attention to a group of four boys seated near by. 
They had evidently had some dispute, and seemed far 
from reaching an amicable settlement of the case. 
"I'll bet you twenty-five dollars," said our little 
friend, who a few minutes before had read to us. 
"And I've got lots of money," he continued, in ear- 
nest tones. "Then let's go and buy candy with it," 
said one of his more practical companions, evidently 
not caring to carry on the argument with such a pros- 
pect in view. Whether they bought the candy or not, 
we do not know, for, her mission being for the time 
fulfilled, the teacher returned, and order was restored 
out of the chaos that so recently reigned. 

After this little impromptu recess the children re- 
turned to their lessons with renewed vigor, and per- 

82 



B Wl3(t to the Scbool=bou6e. 

formed the mathematical part of the programme. vSev- 
eral examples were worked by all the class in addition, 
subtraction, and multiplication, and in most cases 
they were correctly done. The multiplication tables 
were then given by two or three of the more advanced 
pupils ; the monotonous recital of " twice one are two, " 
"twice two are four," etc., being given in the same 
monotone that children always use when wrestling 
with these fundamental principles of arithmetic. 

At this stage of proceedings some of the babies, 
whom the little girls in many cases are obliged to 
take to school with them, began to get uneasy and 
long for a freedom not to be found within the walls 
of a school-room, and so, to pacify these little victims 
of early education, the teacher brought from her 
seemingly inexhaustible supply, some much-sought- 
after candy, or " coack" as it is fondly called, and 
quieted the little martyrs as their older and more 
enlightened sisters proceeded with the well-known 
truths, "twice three are six, twice four are eio-ht " 

The daily lessons over, school was dismissed. The 
children reluctantly left, those having little charges 
marching off with them on their backs, while those 

85 



Bmong tbe pueblo llnMans. 

fortunate enough not to be so burdened ran off with 
the unrestricted freedom and joyousness of childhood. 

Accepting- a most cordial invitation to have lunch 
in the school -house, we seated ourselves at desks re- 
cently vacated by the children, and heartily enjoyed 
the meal cooked at the schoolroom fireplace. 

Soon we heard sounds of muffled laughter, and saw 
popping out from under the desks the dishevelled 
locks of the little hero of the twenty-five dollar bet 
and his philosophical companion. They knew if seen 
at the time of dimissal they would be sent home with 
the rest, and so by strategy they sought to remain in 
school, where it seems they would rather be than any- 
Avhere else. vSo anxious are they to get to school 
that sometimes they arrive at five o'clock in the morn- 
ing, much to the discomfiture of the teacher, who tells 
them to go home and come later; whereupon they 
point to the sun, thus trying to convince her that it is 
time to begin operations. 

Our little friends, having obtained permission to 

remain if quiet, seated themselves on the floor in 

front of the room and amused themselves for some 

time trying to earn, by their good behavior, the right 

86 



B IDislt to tbe Scbool=bou6c. 

to remain within the hallowed walls. But soon their 
love for fun predominated, and sounds of muffled 
laughter proceeded from the spot the boys occupied, 
as a pair of mischievous black eyes looked in our direc- 
tion to see if their recent outburst of hilarity wan to 
be the cause of banishment. Instead of banishment, 
however, their number was reinforced. As soon as 
they had finished their frugal repasts, the other chil- 
dren wandered back in the direction of the school- 
house, and stood in the doorway with such longing 
expressions that they were allowed to enter, babies 
and all, and the room had much the same appearance 
it had had twenty minutes before. But this time 
they came for fun, and they had it. 

During the course of the afternoon the teacher, who 
is obliged to minister to their bodily as well as their 
mental needs, had occasion to bring out her medicine 
case, containing many phials of sugar pills. Im- 
mediately several little hands were entreatingly 
outstretched, as their possessors exclaimed, in a serio- 
comic manner, " Mungi milo" (very sick). But judg- 
ing from their healthful appearance a few moments 

previous to the beseeching demands, it was impossi- 

87 



Bmonci tbc ipucl>lo UnMans. 

ble to convince the dispenser of the pills that an epi- 
demic had suddenly appeared in their midst, and so, 
laug-hingly putting up her case, she gave to each little 
impostor some coack, and they were no more " mungi 
mile." 

Until nearly sundown the little company remained 
in possession of the field, enjoying themselves as only 
children can; then, bidding us good-by, they dis- 
banded, going to their several homes. And it is to 
be hoped, for the sake of their indulgent friend and 
teacher, that they did not consider the sun in the 
right position for them to return until long after five 
o'clock. 

Returning to our domicile, we found Juan seated 
before the little window, making an elaborate toilet. 
A second glance revealed the fact that he was using 
our brush and comb to work some gun grease into 
his shining black locks. He was putting on the fin- 
ishing touches, and seemed greatly pleased with his 
image reflected in a piece of broken looking-glass he 
carried with him. He had daubed his face with red 
war-paint, and the parting of his hair formed a 
straight line of red, from which the greasy black hair 



21 Dislt to tbe Scbool=bou6c. 

receded in a solid mass. Not in the least abashed b}' 
our presence, he took one more glance at himself in 
the tiny mirror, and, being satisfied with the reflec- 
tion, he put the articles back in place and waited 
for orders. 

Being too fascinated by the audacity of his act to 
give him the warranted reprimand, we sent Juan to 
shoot some birds for supper, and, between laughing 
and scolding, gave the articles in question a good 

share of soap, water and hard rubbing. 

89 



SIGHT-SEEING. 

Next morning we went to the school-house again, to 
take pictures of the teacher and scholars. The chil- 
dren, with whom we had become great friends, were 
full of fun and quite willing to be photographed, prob- 
ably not sharing with the older ones the superstitious 
idea that it would bring them harm. They lined up 
asfainst the wall of the school-house, and seemed to 
think posing great sport. When the pictures had 
been taken, the little ones went back to their lessons, 
while we started on a purchasing expedition. 

There was an old Mexican woman in the pueblo 

who possessed many paintings of saints, madonnas, 

etc., such as were in the little house at San Ildefonso. 

Wishing to add one or two of these to our collection 

of curios, we called at the house where the woman 

lived with her two daughters, one of whom spoke 

English quite well, having attend school in the 

pueblo. 

90 



Stgbtseeelng. 

They brought down picture after picture, some so 
faded that it was almost impossible to trace even the 
outlines of a form. Selecting some of the better-pre- 
served ones, we offered a fair price for them, but the 
old woman protested, saying she could not possibly 
part with them — they were sacred. A larger amount 
being offered she seemed more inclined to part with 
the sacred relics, and, when the price was raised for 
the last time, she gladly seized the opportunity of 
turning saints into gold, and sold four of them, 
"Dolores," "San Francisco," "San Juan," and "San 
Bicente." 

Being highly pleased with the bargains they had 
made, they brought out several other articles for which 
they wanted exorbitant prices, but, finding we did not 
want them at all, they low^ered their figures until it 
seemed as if they would give them away, so anxious 
were they to have us take them. 

This Mexican room was very different from those 

in the Indian houses, resembling one that might be 

seen in the poorer quarters of any town. There was 

a rag carpet on the floor (the rooms in the Indian 

houses are not even boarded), and, besides several 

91 



Bmong tbc pueblo ITnJMans. 

chairs and a table, there was a bedstead with a gaud}' 
blanket of Mexican manufacture for a covering. The 
walls were covered with a cheap paper, and what 
struck us as being very peculiar were two frames, the 
faces of which were turned toward the wall. They 
were looking-glasses, which in the case of a death in 
a family are always turned toward the wall for one 
year. 

A daughter of the old Mexican woman had died a 
few months previous to our arrival in the pueblo, 
where her funeral had been celebrated with great 
pomp, and it was for this girl the family were mourn- 
ing. 

At an Indian residence near the Mexican house a 
squaw standing in the doorway beckoned us to enter. 
She had in a store-room, back of the living-room, 
some small images of lava or malpais which she wanted 
to sell. They had been made, she said, by her hus- 
band and son, who chopped them out of the porous 
stone with a small hatchet. They represented the 
black bear, dogs, swans and geese, which are still 
worshipped by some of the old women of the pueblo, 

who generally keep them in hiding in the back rooms 

92 




COCHITI INDIAN. 



Sfcjbtsscefng. 

of their houses, though sometimes they are seen on 
the little mantels over the fireplaces. 

There was also quite an assortment of articles which 
had collected for years. Flintlock guns used by 
the ancestors of the present owners, and many stone 
implements such as spear, arrow, axe heads, and old 
mortars and pestles cut out of lava. There were also 
drums and gourds and saddles of Navajoe work, cov- 
ered with leather and ornamented with brass-headed 
tacks. Besides these there were saddles made in the 
pueblo, similar to our roping saddles, having pommels 
and rolls. 

Having bought some of the stone implements from 
the woman, we started, laden with these and the 
saints, for the little adobe store, to get some necessary 
supplies previous to leaving Cochiti on the morrow. 
There are two of these stores in the pueblo, both 
kept by Mexicans, who supply the villagers with gro- 
ceries, canned goods, cheap calico, harness, and other 
articles, which are always bought in small quantities, 
for no one, Indian or Mexican, has much money with 
which to purchase these luxuries, as they are consid- 
ered. We bought c^uite a quantity of provisions, and 

95 



ainotifl tbc pueblo flnMans. 

were gazed at with interest all the while by the usual 
loiterer, probably on account of the unheard-of large 
sale the storekeeper had made to the strangers in the 
pueblo. 

Returning heavily laden to our room, there came 
toward us into the pueblo a large bunch of burros 
driven by two Indians, who were bringing the animals 
into the village corral for the night. Raising burros 
is one of the principal occupations of the Indians in 
Cochiti. The animals are all herded together, and 
each person owning any in the bunch has a special 
day assigned on which it is his duty to care for the 
lot. The horses are cared for in the same way. 

The Pueblos get most of their horses from the 
Navajoes, who make a special Imsiness of horse-raising 
and travel from village to village with droves of 
Indian ponies or cayuses, which they trade for beads 
that the Pueblo Indians make in great quantities. 
Four of these strings of beads will buy a horse. Five 
dollars will also buy a horse; but, strange to say, five 
dollars will not buy the beads. This method of finan- 
ciering was quite contrary to any we had ever heard 

of, but it seemed to suit the Indians, who place a 

96 



SigbUeeeing, 

much higher value on beads than they do on money. 
This is probably owing to the fact that to manufacture 
them necessitates a great deal of tedious and hard 
labor. They are made of shells obtained from the 
traders, and are strung after holes have been bored in 
them with hand drills, then all together are ground in 
a circular form with a stone used for the purpose. 

Our last day at Cochiti was spent taking a farewell 
look at the place, and in company with Mrs. Grozier 
we visited some Indian families. In a house not far 
from the school were two squaws seated on the floor, 
shelling peas, which the Indians eat raw, as we do 
fruit; they consider them a great luxury. The room 
itself had a very neat appearance. The mattresses 
and blankets which had been used to sleep on, the 
night before, had been rolled up against the side wall 
and were being used as a settee. In front of this 
were several old buffalo skins with very little fur left 
on the surface, showing that they had been trampled 
upon for many years. In the centre of the room, 
from the roof timbers, was suspended, by raw-hide 
rope, a papoose cradle, in which was a sleeping baby. 
The Indians are very fond of children, and especially 

97 



Bmoiuj tbc ipucblo fln^tans. 

of boys. When a woman is asked the sex of her 
child, if a boy, she will promptly answer "hombre," 
meaning man. If the little one happens to be a girl 
the mother is very slow to say so. 

On the walls of the room were bows and arrows, 
some in course of construction, while others looked 
as if they had been used in killing birds and rabbits, 
a sport of which the Indian boy is very fond. They 
all handle the bow and arrow with great skill. The 
familiar Winchester and a belt of cartridges, together 
with little trinkets, such as beadwork necklaces, 
medicine bags and eagle feathers, hung on wooden 
pegs on the wall. Along one side of the room a long 
poL was suspended from the ceiling by a rope at each 
end, and over it were hung the bright-colored, zigzag- 
designed blankets which are obtained by trading shell 
bead'-work with the Navajoes. The black squaw 
dresses, also of Navajoe manufacture, and buckskin 
leo-crins, and moccasins covered with beadwork and 
colored with ochre, were hung over one end of this 
pole. From the ceiling were suspended ten or eleven 
drums, which the Indian considers sacred. 

The beating of the drum is not an uncommon sound 

98 



Sigbtsseelng. 

at any hour of the night in the pueblo, whether at a 
sacred meeting in the estufa or a gathering m the 
plaza. The Indian is very reluctant to sell these 
drums. In fact, we could not buy one at any price 
although we tried at several places. When an Indian 
will not sell his blankets, pottery, beadwork, or dance 
costumes, it shows that he has plenty to eat and is 
thoroughly prosperous. Under these circumstances, 
if he should give a price on any of his possessions, one 
feels he ought to have a mortgage on the man's house 
before paying it. 

At another house three squaws were making pottery 
in their skilful although crude way, by working the 
clay into shape by hand, guided only by the^'eye. 
The jars, after being rubbed and worked i^nto shape, 
are allowed to dry slowly before baking, which is 
done in the bake oven in front of the house. These 
ovens are made of stone and adobe mortar and resem- 
ble in shape the old beehive. Many of the jars were 
artistically decorated with odd conventional designs, 
and one which we purchased had on the inside two 
broods of game-chickens and two game-cocks. The 
rooster figured quite prominently on much of the 



lOI 



"Bmong tbe ipueblo llnOtans. 

pottery, probably owing to the fondness the people 
have for the game of "gallo." 

Returning to the school-house, we had lunch; and 
when the wagon had been loaded and the team 
hitched, we started out of the pueblo, Mrs. Grozier 
and the school-children standing in the doorway 

waving to us. 

On the road beyond the river we met some Indian 
boys driving a herd of sheep and goats into the 
pueblo. As our supply of fresh meat was out, Juan 
selected a young lamb, intending to carry it in the 
back of the wagon, alive, until our arrival at Santo 
Domingo. He made the purchase, and the boys 
went on to the pueblo with the remainder of the 

Hock. 

A little further along the road was a tent filled with 
bales of alfalfa and used as a store for the benefit of 
the freighters who were hauling provisions and min- 
ing machinery from Wallace, a railroad town, to 
Eagle, a silver- and gold-mining camp west of Cochiti, 
in the mountains. In front of the tent were scales, 
on which two Mexicans weighed the bales before 
sellino-. When but a short distance from the tent 



Sigbtsgeelng. 

the lamb, not being fixed in very securely, fell to the 
ground, where one of the wheels passed over its neck, 
and Juan was obliged to get it ready then and there 
for the provision bag. 

Pena Blanca, a little Mexican town, with neat-look- 
ing adobe houses along the one street of the village, 
was just south of the alfalfa tent on the road to Santo 
Domingo. The single store the place boasted of con- 
tained a United vStates post-office, and around the door 
of the building a crowd of idle young Alexicans had 
congregated. The most prominent object in the little 
town was the old church, in front of which was the 
graveyard enclosed by a low wall. From the centre 
of the enclosure rose a large wooden cross almost as 
high as the edifice itself. 

As we journeyed toward the south and compared 
the country with that further north, a great difference 
was perceptible. The country grew more and n^iore 
barren the farther we travelled, and, although on all 
sides in the distance could be seen lofty mountains 
with beautiful coloring rising majestically into the 
clear blue dome above them, yet we missed the trees 
that further north had made such a fine foreground 

105 



Bmonc} tbe pueblo IliiDians. 

for the ever-changing picture. On the way down we 

passed several freighters, and often old Mexicans 

driving two or three burros laden with wood were 

seen slowly plodding along the dusty road. 

io6 



III. 
LirE AT SANTO DOAMNGO. 



LIFE AT SANTO DOMINGO. 



THE distance between 
Cochiti and vSanto Domingo 
was not so great as we im- 
agined, and we neared the 
latter pueblo before sunset, 
passing Wallace, the railroad 
town, on our way to the In- 
dian village. The green 
lields of corn and alfalfa sur- 
rounding the pueblo were in 
fine condition and indicated great prosperity among 
the natives. On the outskirts of the pueblo was the 
corral, where a large number of horses were being 
fed by two or three Indians. 

We went to the home of an Indian whom we had 
met in vSanta Fe, and who lived in the second story of 
a little house near the river bed. His room, which 

was nicely ventilated, had at one side an open firc- 

109 




among tbc ipucblo IFnDians. 

place large enoiig-h to have three meals cooked in it 
at one time. In the centre of the room our friend's 
wife was standing, swinging a papoose cradle in 
which a tiny baby was sleeping, while sitting around 
on the piled-up blankets were several sa^uaws with 
little ones in their arms. We waited among this 
group until our friend returned from work in the 
fields, and told us he had a vacant house a little way 
up one of the streets. 

Unlike the pueblos of vSan Ildefonso and Cochiti, 
where the houses face on a plaza or square, Santo 
Domingo is laid out in streets running parallel to 
each other. In the centre is one main thoroughfare, 
which the houses on all the other streets on either 
side of it face. 

Reaching the house in question, we prepared our 
evening meal. In a short time several of the old 
bucks of the village called, and sat around, curiously 
looking at us as they talked with each other. Among 
our visitors was a young man, a cousin of the owner 
of the house in which we had located. He could 
speak a little English, and we gladly seized this op- 
portunity of learning from him something about our 



%itc at Santo ©omincio. 

surroundings. After taking out the little square of 
glass that formed the one window of the room (the 
Indians have windows for light, not ventilation), we 
questioned the young buck about the house, why 
such a nice-looking place was vacant, when so many 
people in the pueblo were huddled together in one 
room. He told us that about a year ago his cousin 
had died in the very room in which we were sitting, 
and that the place had been uninhabited since. On 
inquiring the cause of the man's illness, the fellow 
said, pointing to his chest, "He was sick here, and 
coughed all the time." 

Not sharing with the Indian any superstitious an- 
tipathy to the place, but fearing there might still be 
some germs of the disease in the room that had been 
closed for so long, we decided to sleep once more in 
the wagon rather than to run any risk of infection. 

Accordingly our bed was made up as it had been 
before. The night was very noisy, more so than any 
we had spent in Cochiti, for all the dogs (and Santo 
Domingo is noted for possessing hundreds of them) 
kept up a furious barking, seemingly selecting our 
street as a place to give vent to their feelings. We 

113 



Bmoncj tbc ipueblo 1ln?ian6. 

slept very little during the night, and when at last the 
place partially quieted down the first faint streaks of 
dawn were visible through a hole in the wagon cover. 
Awakening at sunrise we were greatly surprised to 
see several pairs of eyes gazing at us under the can- 
vas, from all directions. Seeing our covered wagon 
in one of their streets had, no doubt, aroused the curi- 
osity of the villagers, and it was in this way they 
sought to satisfy it. How long we had been the cen- 
tre of attraction is hard to say, but probably for some 
time; and even the fact that we were awake, and 
motioning them to go away, had no effect whatever 
upon them. In a few moments, however, Juan came 
up and told the crowd to stand by. 

During the morning the men loitered around our 
doorway? talking and smoking. We were about to 
go around the pueblo, when, coming toward us from 
The river, were six bucks representing goblins. They 
were stripped, with the exception of a flannel breech- 
cloth and moccasins. They wore false heads, per- 
fectly cvlindrical in form from the shoulders up, and 
with holes in front for the eyes. Four of them were 
painted bkick with white spots down their backs, and 

114 



Xifc at Santo 5)omlnc}0. 

the remaining two, yellow with black spots. They 
wore armlets of rawhide in which were stuck corn 
husks. Some carried corn husks in their hands, while 
others had loaves of bread or tortillas. Thus arrayed 
they appeared in the village streets. They were sup- 
posed to have come from the river to make the men 
work on the bridge, which had been washed away by 
the spring freshets. The goblins ran through the 
pueblo from house to house, frightening in their 
march the children, who ran for protection to their 
mothers. They chased the bucks to the river, pointed 
out the place where they were to work, and made them 
commence the new bridge at once. The river bed at 
this point was fully a mile in width, while the stream 
itself was not over a hundred feet wide and the water 
at the deepest point reached about to a man's waist. 
The bridge consisted of quadrupods, made from the 
trunks of cottonwood trees, in which were placed 
faced logs, spanning from one to the other, crossing 
the river. The stream being so shallow the abut- 
ments were put in place without much difficulty by 
eight or nine of the strongest bucks, who waded into 

the water and put in place the timbers which the other 

117 



I-lniono tbc pueblo UnMane. 

men passed to them. The bridge was completed late 
in the afternoon, and on the return of the bucks 
to the village a large camp fire was started, around 
which, until a late hour, the men collected, resting, 
and evidently comparing their ideas of bridge con- 
struction. 

During the evening we visited some of the people, 
who most cordially received us and showed us their 
possessions. In many houses Navajoe blankets were 
hanging around, also buckskin suits, and quivers 
made of mountain lion skin. Before turning in for 
the night we purchased two Navajoe blankets, and 
wrapping these around us, so that the dogs of the vil- 
lage would think we were Indians and not molest us, 
returned to the wagon. There was the usual barking 
of dogs together with a parade that moved through 
the village streets, making great commotion. The 
sound of the bugle, the governor shouting, and the 
beating of an old army drum, could be heard all at 
one time. The procession moved up and down the 
streets of the village, the sound becoming louder, 
then softer, and louder again, as its distance from us 

varied. Finally the little company approached us, 

ii8 




IN HOLIDAY ATTIRE. 



Xtfc at Santo Doniincio. 

and when passing we could distinguish by aid of the 
starlight a drummer on either side of the bugler, and 
all three marching in front of the governor, who was 
shouting at the top of his voice. They passed us; 
then, having gone the rounds, returned to their 
homes. This parade announced to the people that 
gallo was to be played in the main street the follow- 
ing afternoon. The drummers and the bugler were 
to attract the attention of the people while the gov- 
ernor made the announcement. 

Leaving Juan to cook breakfast next morning, we 
went to one of the largest houses in the pueblo, where 
several families lived together. They had just com- 
menced eating, and asked us to partake with them. 
Accepting the invitation, they handed us small stools, 
and we joined the circle. In the centre of the group, 
on the floor of the room, were two flat baskets, one 
containing dried beef and the other tortillas. We 
helped ourselves to these, and were each handed a 
cup filled with a black sour liquid called, by the 
Indians, coffee. 

In our own room Juan awaited us with a well-cooked 
breakfast, which was thoroughly enjoyed, onr appe- 



2lmoii{j tbc ipucblo flnJMans. 

tites not being in the least impaired by the first 
course eate^n with the Indians. 

After breakfast we went with our landhird to buy 
another blanket and some pottery. One buck on 
whom we called had several pieces, including a large 
jar decorated in conventional design, for which he 
wanted three dollars. Visiting several other places 
in quest of a piece with bird ornamentation, we found 
that figure decoration was not characteristic of the 
Santo Domingo Indians. On making this discovery 
we hastened back for the piece before chosen, and 
imagine our surprise to find that during our absence 
the jar had increased in value one dollar and that the 
man would not for an instant consider his first-named 
price. This trait the Indians probably develop by 
coming in contact with traders who visit the Indian 
villages and buy pottery, blankets, and other articles 
of Indian manufacture, giving the poor, tmsuspecting 
creatures about one-third the value of the articles in 
beads. 

Having learned a lesson from our last transaction, 
we went in search of a blanket to a house not far 
from the one where the pottery had been made. 



Xife at Santo Domingo. 

There were several blankets hanging around, but, as 
the owner wanted as much again for them as they 
were worth, he did not make the sale. Our inter- 
preter told us that three strings of beads, such as the 
traders take into the pueblos, would buy a blanket. 
These beads we subsequently priced in Santa Fe, and 
to our amazement found that three strings cost just 
one-fourth the price the man had named for a blanket. 

It had been our intention, at the start, to travel as 
far west as Laguna, a pueblo having a population of 
about one thousand Indians, and, being so far from 
vSanta Fe, one very seldom visited by the whites, but 
the horses began to show signs of o-ivinof out, makincr 
this impossible. Had they been good ones we would 
have remained in Santo Domingo a week longer, to 
witness a large dance to take place at that time, and 
afterward travel further west. 

Greatly disappointed at being obliged to shorten 

the trip, we returned to the house to prepare for our 

departure, and found Juan sitting on the back of the 

wagon, which he had loaded, talking with three young 

bucks with whom he had become acquainted during 

our stay in Santo Domingo. One of the group espe- 

125 



Bnioncj tbc pueblo IFnMans. 

cially attracted our attention. His straight black 
hair hung below iiis waist, around which he wore a 
Navajoe belt of oval silver discs. The silver buttons 
on his buckskin leggins were also made by the Nava- 
joes. We levelled the camera and were preparing to 
take a picture of the group, when Juan informed the 
little company they were about to be photographed. 
This they would not have, and were walking away, 
when we handed them a picture of an Indian. Im- 
mediately they were all attention, and as they gazed 
at the picture the button was pressed unknown to 
them. 

At the corral some bucks were getting the horses 
ready for the games of the afternoon ; and as we 
passed along the road leading from the pueblo, wagon- 
loads of Mexicans were coming from the neighboring 
settlements and from Cochiti to Santo Domingo to be 
present at the celebration. 

We drove on through Wallace, hoping to reach 

Cerrillous, about ten miles beyond, by night; but this 

was not possible, as, travelling until sundown, our 

usual hour for striking camp, Wallace was still within 

sight. We drew the wagon up beside a little stream 

126 



TLitc at Santo Soiningo. 

— Cerrillous Creek — the bed of which was covered 
with a limv substance, and found the water not (jood 
to drink, being full of alkali. After boiling, however, 
it did very well in coffee. 

While preparing supper a young fellow rode up 
and entered into conversation with us. He had just 
left the mining camp at Eagle and was in search of 
work. Our meal was shared with him, and, inviting 
him to take breakfast with us on the morrow, we 
retired. Next morning our friend was nowhere in 
sight. He had probably taken advantage of the early 
mornir.g light and ridden off on his lonely journey. 

After breakfast we broke camp and proceeded np 
the road, which follows the railroad for about two 
miles; then, leaving the plain, we ascended the hill 
and were once more on the mesa. Looking backward, 
the road over which we had travelled from the Indian 
village could be plainly seen, and in the distance 
stood Santo Domingo Mountain, enveloped in a thin 
mist, but clearly distinguishable against the southern 
sky. 

After travelling slowly for many hours, a little min- 
ing camp, with its derricks and shafts, appeared up in 

127 



Hmonc; tbc ipucblo ITnMans. 

the hills. This proved to be tlie mines of Waldo, 
that supply the vSanta Fe Road with coal. Here it 
was that we received our first information about the 
great strike that had tied up most of the western 
railroads, and on account of this strike the mines 
were not being worked. 

Across the ridge, not far from the mines, was the 
little town of Waldo, a well-laid-out village with rows 
of neat-looking houses, the residences of the miners. 
Farther down the hill was the general store, which is 
under the management of the railroad company and 
supplies the people with everything in the line of 
groceries, dry goods, etc. We were greatly surprised 
to find such a store in a little mining settlement up in 
the hills of New Mexico, and also at the quantity and 
quality of the stock. 

Cerrillous, a small settlement beyond Waldo, is a 
typical railroad town, with its small hotels and restau- 
rants, billiard and pool rooms, saloons and stores. 
On our arrival in town several freighters whom we 
had niet on the road further down were hanging 
around the feed store, talking over the news of the 

day with some of the townspeople. 

128 



X(fe at Santo Domingo. 

As we had for the past two weeks heard absolutely 
nothing of the events taking place in the outer world, 
even this local gossip was welcome. 

The most important topic under discussion was the 
scarcity of beer. The supply had given out several 
days before, and, on account of the strike, had not 
been replenished, causing a beer famine. Two 
trucks, however, had been sent to Santa Fe, and it was 
expected that relief would soon be at hand. In the 
course of conversation it was learned that the deputy 
sheriffs were organizing a posse to go to Raton to 
help move the mail trains that the strikers were hold- 
ing back. This caused unusual excitement, and the 
figure of an armed deputy passing through the street 
was the signal for further speculation on the great 
issue at stake. Other and less important subjects fol- 
lowed these all-absorbing ones until our departure 
from the town, which was witnessed by a large pro- 
portion of the inhabitants, who had gradually collected 
in the vicinity of the store. 

The cafion through which the road out of Cerrillous 

runs is very rough, large stones and deep gullies 

sometimes lying in the direct path of the traveller. 

129 



Bmong tbe ipueblo UnOians. 

The condition of the road and the horses prevented 
our going far, and we were obliged to camp for the 
night when only half a mile from town. 

Realizing that the horses would never reach Santa 
Fe at this rate, Juan went to a little house, next morn- 
ing, near the roadside, a short distance up the caiion, 
to see if he could procure a horse to take the place of 
our old black, which was nearly played out. He re- 
turned with the information that the people, who 
were Mexicans, would give us no assistance, although 
they had several horses grazing near the house. 
However, they told him that an American family 
lived a little way back from the road, over the hill. 
Trusting they would help us out, we walked in the 
direction named, and found a small cottage in among 
the trees. It was the home of one of the Waldo 
miners, who, being out of work, was glad to be of 
assistance to us. He hitched his team of sturdy mus- 
tangs to the wagon, and, with the wrecks tied on be- 
hind, the journey was continued up the caiion, which 
became narrower and steeper as we proceeded up the 
mountain. 

The mustangs did good pulling over this, one of the 

130 



Xife at Santo 5)ominc;o. 

worst stretches of road in the country, and wc realized 
that the change had been made none too soon, for 
the cripples, being unable to keep up with the mus- 
tangs, began to hang back. vSeeing that this was in- 
terfering with our progress, Juan cut the ropes and 
led them up more slowly. At the top of the hill it 
was found the black horse could go no further. So, 
tying him to a cedar tree near by, we left him, our 
driver promising to get the animal on his return 
next day and care for him until sent for by the 
owner. 

Through Carmensville, a once prosperous but now 
deserted village, we passed. It was a desolate-look- 
ing place, its buildings gradually crumbling away by 
exposure to the elements and from want of repair. 

From the top of the hill the old town of vSanta Fe, 
our starting-point, was visible across the plain many 
miles away. The place appeared like a small dot at 
the foot of the mountains, and, looking toward it from 
our position on the hilltop, the winding road we were 
about to pass over could be easily traced across the 
sweeping plain. 

The famous turquoise mines of New Mexico next 

^33 



^\ iHn Hn 



Bmong tbe ipucblo flnOlans. 

came in sight, and tlio mountain containing them 
was resplendent in the sunlight that enveloped it. 

At Bonanza, a little settlement of three houses at 
the foot of the hill, we partook of the last meal of 
the trip; then wc started across the plain, and as the 
sun was sinking below the western hills we drove by 
the Indian school on the outskirts of the town and 

entered Santa Fe. 

134 



IV. 

TAOS. 



FROM SANTA FE TO TAOS. 



OUR entertainment by 
glimpses of Indian life, dur- 
ing the past two weeks, in- 
duced us to spend more time 
among the Pueblos before 
leaving New Mexico. Ac- 
cordingly, Taos was selected 
as being a place of more than 
usual interest, both on ac- 
count of its buildings and of 
the battle that had been fought at the pueblo during 
the insurrection of 1847, when the United States 
troops avenged the murder of Governor Bent. 

Our plans were made during the following two 
days to visit Taos up in the mountains, seventy miles 
north of Santa Fe. We concluded to make this trip, 

not with a team as before, but by rail, on the Denver 

137 




Bmong tbe ipucblo ITn&ians. 

and Rio Grande narrow-gauge road to Embudo, and 
thence to Taos in the mail wagon. 

With our blankets in the mail bag, the cameras, 
six-shooters, and a hand-satchel, we arrived at the 
station as the train drew up to the platform. The 
cars appeared very small, and the little wood-burning 
locomotive seemed to do a great deal of puffing, con- 
sidering the slow rate of speed at which it travelled. 

Our fellow-passengers were mostly Mexicans wdio 
kept up a steady flow of conversation in their foreign 
language, making it almost impossible to realize we 
were within the borders of the United States. 

Travelling toward San Ildefonso, we had, from time 
to time, glimpses of the road so recently passed over, 
and in two or three places the exact spots of our 
camps could be distinguished. 

At the rio the track entered the caiion, and fol- 
lowed the stream, which at this point flowed very 
swiftly over its bed of gravel. An old freight car, 
removed from its trucks and supported on piles, 
formed the station of wSan Ildefonso. It was situated 
some distance from the pueblo, which could be plainly 

seen from the car window. The sight of the little 

i3« 







•^^«S- 










3From Santa ffc to tlaoe. 

village brought back many recollections of our stay in 
the place, of the people, and especially of Juan, our 
late travelling companion, who would have enjoyed 
so much our present outing. 

Passing the pueblo of Santa Clara, we stopped at 
Espaiiola, a railroad town, where quite a congregation 
of Indians and Mexicans had collected around the sta- 
tion. They were seated on the platform, conversing; 
the Indian women surrounded by pieces of pottery, 
which they tried to sell to the train's people. At the 
general store and post office, several teams and sad- 
dle horses were hitched. The store was filled with 
people, who evidently expected the train would bring 
the mail that had been for the past two weeks delayed 
on account of the strike. 

x\t Espaiiola, several passengers boarded the train, 

which, as it moved in and out around ledges of rock, 

followed the irregular course of the stream. The 

river had the appearance of a clear mountain brook, 

of a beautiful greenish color, whirling around in deep 

holes, then bounding over large stones on its way 

down the rough rocky canon. The roadbed here, 

where the spring freshets sweep away everything be- 

141 



Bmoncj tbc pueblo ITnDfans. 

fore them, is proteeted by breastworks of piles, to 
prevent it from being washed away. 

The train slowly travelled along the up grade until 
noon, Yvdien we arrived at Embudo, where the rail- 
road leaves the rio and ascends to the mesa. The 
mail wagon, in which we were to continue our journey, 
was at the station, awaiting the arrival of the train. 
Two mail bags from Santa Fe were thrown on the 
wagon, and these, together Avith ours well filled with 
blankets, made it appear that the strike was at an 
end, and the mails on the way to Taos. 

The wagon was drawn by a pair of fat mustangs, 
and driven by a young Mexican who travels, under 
contract with the Government, between Embudo and 
Taos, a distance of thirty-two miles, and daily carries 
the luail between the two points. 

We left the station a litile after noon, the sun shin- 
ing brightly on the surrounding hills. When a short 
distance up the road, however, a storm could be seen 
rapidly approaching us down the caiion. The heavy 
black clouds came nearer and nearer, and grew hea- 
vier and blacker as they approached, until it seemed 

as if they could no longer hold the water in them. 

142 



ffrom Santa 3fe to ^aos. 

Then the rain fell in torrents, loouring in a cloud- 
burst, and giving us barely time to cover ourselves 
with the almost empty mail bags before the storm 
was upon us. This protection, however, was not long 
necessary, for the fury of the storm soon spent itself, 
and the clouds, jDassing over the mountains, left the 
sky clear. 

Rinconado, a little Mexican adobe town, Avas the 
first stopping-place, and at the general store one of 
the mail bags was left with the postmaster. 

The road between Embudo and Taos was built by 
the Government for a mail route, at great expense 
and with much hard labor, as the country is broken 
up b) high mountains and deep caiions. For some 
aistance the road is cut in the mountain that forms 
the east side of the canon. Above us, the hills, rising 
perpendicularly from the road, pierced the sky over- 
head; wdiile on the other side, down in the bottom of 
the canon, the rio flowed, swiftly eddying as it passed 
on toward the south. 

The mountain side was almost barren, as, with the 
exception of some scrub cedar bushes, there was no 
sign of vegetable life. But what most forcibly strikes 

145 



amonci tbe pueblo IfnMans. 

the eye of the traveller is the gorgeous coloring of the 
soil and rocks in the hills on either side of the stream. 
The soil blends from a deep red to lighter red and 
white, then into the greenish tint of the rocks that 
crop out here and there on the surface of the hills. 

In many places in the sides of the canon were large 
circular indentations, made at a time when the bed of 
the stream was much higher than it is to-day, and 
when a greater amount of water, constantly flowing, 
caused large boulders to grind these whirl-holes in 
the hard, solid rocks. 

Leaving the cailon, the road goes over the hills, and 
along the roadside are mounds of sand, Avhich show 
by the deep cuts and gullies in them that in time 
they will be entirely washed away by heavy rainfalls 
that frequently occur in the vicinity. From the top 
of one of these hills, the river again came in sight, 
and beside it, like an oasis in a desert, lay the little 
town of Cieneguiella, in a fertile valley of green fields 
and gardens. 

From Cieneguiella we ascended to the mesa, five 

hundred feet above the town, and started over the 

wide plain bounded by distant mountains. Through 

146 




FATHER AND SON. 



dfrom Santa jfc to XLnos. 

the centre of this vast level plain the canon contain- 
ing the Rio Grande penetrates, cutting deeply for 
hundreds of feet below the surface. At the sharp 
turns and curves of the caiion, the course of the river, 
which looked like a thread, could be traced. 

Another storm approached, travelling in a mass, 
and apparently following the course of the caiion. 
Before it reached us, however, the cloud burst and 
emptied its contents into the river below. 

As we neared Taos the country became mountain- 
ous again. The hills were covered with sage bushes, 
and cedars of a much larger growth than those in the 
lower country grew side by side with them. AVe 
were fully eight thousand feet above the level of the 
sea, and could clearly distinguish the timber line on 
the mountains around us. 

Just before sundown we drove through the town 
of Ranches de Taos, by the old church built over a 
hundred years ago, then on three miles farther into 
Taos; and as the sun was sinking in splendor behind 
the hills, our caravan arrived at the post office. See- 
ing our well-filled mail bag, the postmaster, thinking 

no doubt that the strike was at an end, rushed out to 

149 



Bnionc} tbe ipueblo UnMans. 

get it. Explaining to him that we held the key of 
the bag, and would show him the contents if he so 
desired, he was convinced it was not the property of 
the Government. In spite of this he looked quite 
crestfallen as we drove away to the adobe hotel near 
by. 

The hotel, the mail carrier told us, was kept by a 
German, who, he assured us, had plenty of good 
Sante Fe beer, which, considering the distance it had 
to be brought, was considered a great luxury. 

The German proprietor proved a most genial host, 
and, as he ushered us in to supper, soon after our ar- 
rival, we took the places assigned us at the table, where 
the other guests of the hotel had already assembled . It 
was a mixed company that sat around the board. The 
village doctor, a young man from the East, the black- 
smith, the editor of the weekly paper Taos Herald, 
several miners, some gentlemen of leisure about town, 
our host and his family and ourselves the latest ar- 
rivals. 

The table was in one corner of a large, bare-looking 
hall, at the rear of which a space was curtained off 
for the use of commercial travellers, and as the meal 

150 



3from Santa jfc to Caog. 

progressed we could plainly hear them making sales 
to the storekeepers, who passed in and out through 
the dining-room on their way to and from the sales- 
room. 

In front of the hall, beside the bar-room, was the 
hotel office, separated from the dining-room only by 
a light partition extending about as high as a man's 
head. 

The hotel itself is a one-story adobe structure, 
built, as are most Mexican houses, around a small 
courtyard, upon which the rooms face. 

Our first glimpse next morning was of the beauti- 
ful snow-tipped mountains glistening in the sunlight, 
with Taos Peak, which is twelve thousand feet above 
the level of the sea, towering above them all. 

We decided to spend the day sight-seeing in the old 
town, and devote the remainder of our time to the 
pueblo. Our guide, the editor, told us many interest- 
ing things concerning the place, and pointed out the 
several buildings, the most prominent of which was 
Taos Bank, the only wooden structure in the town. 
Beyond the bank and near the post office was the 
house where Governor Bent was assassinated by a 

153 



Bmong tbe ipucblo fln&fane. 

body of Mexicans and Pueblo Indians in 1S47. The 
oldest house in the place, now roofless, was built 
about seventy-four years ago, and was the home of 
Kit Carson, whose tombstone in the little American 
graveyard east of the town marks the spot where he 
was buried. Opposite the printing-office was the lit- 
tle church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the priest's 
house and convent beside it. 

In the court-room near by a case was being argued 
by Mexicans — and although we could not understand 
a word they said, it could be plainly seen that the 
affair was creating great excitement. The trouble 
originated from a quarrel between two Mexicans at 
a dance the night before, when the defendant had 
used his knife too freely on the plaintiff. Such cases 
are frequent in Taos, and are generally decided in 
favor of the party having the greatest number of 

followers. 

154 




fflg } HI 



LIFE IN THE PUEBLO. 

Next mornin<r we made our first visit to the pueblo, 
driving- out in a light wagon. On the road north of the 
town we met several Indians, who had walked over 
from the pueblo three miles beyond. These Indians 
bore a marked difference to those in the southern pueb- 
loes, both on account of their dress, which was purely 
Indian, without any ^lexican innovations, and also by 
their features, which resemble more nearly the 
wilder tribes of the north. This change is, no doubt, 
the result of intermarrying with the Navajoes and 
the Apaches, who live but a short distance over the 
mountains toward the west. So long has this been 
going on that the Taos Indians have lost much of 
their Pueblo identity. 

The morning was perfect, the clear atmosphere 
causing Taos Peak, with its barren top, to stand out 
boldly in the sunlight. Along the road, which, as 
we neared the pueblo, became very narrow, were 

157 



Bmong tbe ipucblo IfnMans. 

fields of corn and alfalfa, and further along, on either 
side, was a growth of willows, so dense that even the 
sky above was not visible; all that could be seen was 
the side of the large mountain, at the foot of which 
the pueblo lies. Here and there an esaque crossed 
the road, carrying the clear water of Pueblo River 
into the fields of the JMexicans on the outskirts of the 
town. Leaving the willowy bower, there loomed up 
before us the two great pyramidal buildings of the 
pueblo, which, according to the historian, are the most 
interesting and extraordinary inhabited structures in 
America. 

We went in search of a young Indian named Lo- 
renzo, of whom we had previously heard. He was 
at home, and proved a most efficient interpreter and 
guide, as well as an agreeable companion. He was 
a well-educated fellow, having been graduated from 
Carlisle a year or tv/o before. Since his return to 
the pueblo, however, he has been looked down upon 
by the rest of the inhabitants, who consider his 
knowledge a great disadvantage to them. He told us 
that on the day of his arrival home, after an absence 

of four years, a meeting had been called in the estufa 

158 



Xife in tbe pueblo. 

to consider his case. The principal grievance was 
that he wore the clothes of a United vStates citizen 
instead of the buckskins of his brethren. He had 
been told he must change his manner of dressinsf, 
and on his steady refusal to accede to their demands 
they sought to force him to do so. When the council 
meeting had adjourned a committee was sent to tell 
him the decision arrived at ; that he must either 
resign his American garments or be debarred from 
taking any part whatever in the affairs of the pueblo. 
He remained firm in his determination, and from that 
day has had no part whatever in the affairs of the 
community. There he lives, seemingly happy, m his 
little room with its modern appointments; bistable 
well filled w'ith books — his constant companions. 

The two great buildings of Taos pueblo form ir- 
regular pyramids, being in some parts seven stories 
high, each tier or story covering a smaller area than 
the one below, to allow entrance from the roof. In 
each building over a hundred persons dwell; a whole 
family sometimes living in a little room near the top. 
Besides these structures a few small houses are scat- 
tered around the place, but the majority of the people 

i6r 



Bmong tbc pueblo ITnMans. 

live in the two mam buildings. Near the most north- 
erly of these are the ruins of the old church, with 
part of the adobe walls, seven feet in thickness, still 
standing. This church, during the revolt of 1847, 
was turned into a fortification, and held by Mexicans 
and Indians while being stormed by the United vStates 
troops, who marched from vSanta Fe to Taos when 
the news of the murder of the Governor reached the 
Capital. 

Concerning this battle Colonel Price, the commander 
of the American troops, writes as follows : — " Posting 
the dragoons under Captain Burgwin about two hun- 
dred and sixty yards from the western Hank of the 
church, I ordered the mounted men under Captains St. 
Vrain and vSlack to a position on the opposite side of 
the town, whence they could discover and intercept 
any fugitives who might attempt to escape toward the 
mountains or in the direction of San Fernando. The 
residue of the troops took ground about three hundred 
yards from the north wall. Here, too, Lieutenant 
Dyer established himself with the six-pounder and 
two howitzers, while Lieutenant Hessendaubel re- 
mained with Captain Burgwin in command of two 

162 



3Life in tbc ipueblo. 

howitzers. By this arrangement a cross fire was ob- 
tained, sweeping the front and eastern flank of the 
church. 

" All these arrangements being made, the batteries 
opened upon the town at nine o'clock a.m. At 
eleven, finding it impossible to break the walls of the 
church with the six-pounders and howitzers, I deter- 
mined to storm the building. At a signal Captain 
Burgwin, at the head of his own company, and that 
of Captain McMillin, charged the western flank of 
the church, while Captain Augney, infantry battalion, 
and Captain Barbar and Lieutenant Boon, vSecond 
Missouri Volunteers, charged the northern wall. As 
soon as the troops above mentioned had established 
themselves under the western wall of the church axes 
were used in the attempt to breach it, and, a tem- 
porary ladder having been made, the roof was 
fired. About this time Captain Burgwin, at the 
head of a small party, left the cover afforded by 
the flank of the church, and, penetrating into the 
corral in front of that building, endeavored to force 
the door. In this exposed position Captain Burg- 
win received a severe wound, which deprived me 

165 



Bmong tbc ipueblo IfnMans. 

of his valuable services, and of which he died on the 
/th inst. 

" Lieutenants Mcllvaine, Royall and Lackland ac- 
companied Captain Burgwin into the corral, but the 
attempt on the church door proved fruitless, and they 
were compelled to retire behind the western wall. In 
the mean time small holes had been cut in the west- 
ern wall, and shells were thrown in by hand, doing 
good execution. The six-pounder was now brought 
around by Lieutenant Wilson, who, at the distance of 
two hundred yards, poured a heavy fire of grape into 
the town. The enemy all this time kept up a de- 
structive fire upon our troops. About half-past three 
o'clock the six-pounder was run up within about 
sixty yards of the church, and after ten rounds one of 
the holes which had been cut with the axes was 
widened into a practicable breach. 

"The storming party, among whom were Lieuten- 
ants Dyer, Wilson and Taylor, entered and took pos- 
session of the church without opposition. The in- 
terior was filled with dense smoke, but for which 
circumstance our storming party would have suffered 

great loss. A few of the enemy were seen in the 

i66 




TAOS INDIAN. 



Xife in tbe ipucblo. 

gallery, where an open door admitted the air; but they 
retired without firing again. The troops left to sup- 
port the battery on the north side were now ordered 
to charge on that side. 

" The enemy then abandoned the western part of 
the town. Many took refuge in the large houses on 
the east, while others endeavored to escape toward the 
mountains. These latter were pursued by the mounted 
men, under Captains vSlack and St. Vrain, who killed 
forty-one of them, only two or three men escaping. 
It was now night, and our troops were quietly quar- 
tered in the houses which the enemy had abandoned. 
On the next morning the enemy sued for peace, and, 
thinking the severe loss they had sustained would 
prove a salutary lesson, I granted their supplication 
on the condition that they should deliver up to me 
Tomas, one of their principal men, who had insti- 
gated and been actively engaged in the murder of 
Governor Bent and others. 

" The number of the enemy at the Battle of Pueblo 

de Taos was between six and seven hundred, and of 

these one hundred and fifty were killed — wounded 

not known. Our own loss was seven killed and forty- 

169 



Bmonc? tbe ipucblo IfnMans. 

five wounded. Many of the wounded have since 
died." 

This battle, fought at the old church, was practi- 
cally the end of the attempt to expel the Americans 
from the Territory. 

' In the thick adobe walls of the ruin, indentations, 
where cannon balls had been embedded, were visible. 
Lorenzo said that durino' his childhood his principal 
playthings had been the old balls fired by our troops 
during the battle. 

From the old we went to the new church, where 
the Indians of Taos worship at the present time. The 
church, of course, is Catholic, but, coming less in con- 
tact with the Mexicans than those in the southern 
pueblos, the Taos Indians are not such strict followers 
of the faith. 

The Indian, as a rule, has two religions; his origi- 
nal, which consists of worshipping the almighty 
chief, and also the Catholic, which was adopted from 
the Mexicans. 

Many of the dances performed at the pueblos are 

merely forms of worship, or rather of prayer to the 

almighty chief. The planting dance, for instance, 

170 



Xife in tbe pueblo. 

that we had witnessed at San Ildefonso, was a prayer 
for the success of the crops. The hunting- dance, 
also, is a prayer that the mountains and streams in 
the vicinity of the pueblos may abound in game and 
fish. Thus a sacred rite and an amusement are com- 
bined; and while the people enjoy it for the pleasure 
it brings them, they believe it will be the means of 
their further success. 

The Indians are a very superstitious race, believing 
in all kinds of signs and workings of supernatural 
powers; sometimes avoiding contact with the most 
harmless things imaginable, fearing some evil influ- 
ence may be exerted upon them. 

A common form of superstition we had noticed was 
a belief that wearing certain charms would be a 
means of protection to the possessors. Accordingly 
many of the bucks wore in their belts smiall leather 
bags containing meal, in which were stones, carvings 
of malpais, pieces of turquoise, or old bullets. The 
meal is supposed to keep the articles pure and clean, 
and in constantly carrying them the wearer is thought 
to be proof against disease. 

Lorenzo conducted us up the rickety ladders of one 

173 



Bmong the ipueblo UnMans. 

of the great buildings of the pueblo. In front of 
most of the doors, en the roofs, little children were 
playing, sometimes perilously near the edge, while 
others were descending the ladders with great agil- 
ity. From the top of this wonderfully built structure 
a fine view of the surrounding country was obtained. 
The caiion from which the little mountain stream 
comes bubbling down was before us, while toward the 
south, across the plain, lay the old tov/n of Taos, 
with the marble-like peak at its side. All around, 
the high mountains towered into the azure sky, and 
at our feet were the fertile green fields in which the 
country abounds. 

The field north of the building is kept under culti- 
vation for the priest, who receives the products of the 
soil in payment for saying mass at the little church 
near by. The bucks, headed by the governor, were 
at work in this field, their garments floating in the 
breeze as they marched in file ploughing between the 
rows of young corn. When the work was completed, 
and the priest's acre in good condition, they shoul- 
dered their implements and marched on to their 
homes. 

174 



Xlte in tbe pueblo. 

Wishing for a glimpse of the natural beauties of 
the surrounding country, we, with Lorenzo in the 
back of the wagon, started for the caiion. The morn- 
ing was beautiful, the sky cloudless, and the bright 
sunlight, shining on the neighboring hills, harmoni- 
ously blended the varied tints of the earth with the 
deep blue of the sky. The road that follows the clear, 
sparkling mountain stream was very narrow, and the 
growth of trees on either side so dense that in some 
places the water, flowing some feet below us, was lost, 
to sight; then in the clearings, when the brook was 
again visible, trout could be plainly seen in the clear 
water that sparkled as the sun shone on it through 
the leafy bowers overhead. 

A short distance up the caiion we came to a spot 
by the roadside which had been cleared of the trees 
that in former times had grown there. The clearing 
was circular in form, and covered an area of about 
one hundred feet square. This spot, Lorenzo said, was 
connected with the hunting dance, which occurs some 
time during the fall, when the elk are bugling in the 
mountains. The dancers attire themselves in cos- 
tumes representing buffalo, deer, and antelope. A 

177 



Bmoncj tbe pueblo IfnDians. 

buck and a squaw wear stuffed heads of buffalos. Be- 
hind them are a pair of deer, who in turn are followed 
by the buck and doe antelope, and so on. The 
dancers repair to the mountain, and the dance begins 
on the circular spot by the roadside. In a short 
time a band of warriors is organized in the village 
to hunt the dancers, whom they capture and take 
down to the pueblo, where the hunters and the 
hunted join together in the great fall dance. The 
dance itself must be, from what we were told, simi- 
lar to the one we had witnessed at San Ildefonso ; 
the difference being in the costumes of the partici- 
pants and the preliminary hunt in the mountain. 

As we returned to the pueblo we could distinctly 
see a storm gathering over the Taos Peak, the top of 
which is usually of snowy whiteness. Since our trip 
up the canon, however, it had changed into a grayish 
tint ; and as we neared the town it seemed suddenly 
to grow black, as a i^reat dark cloud, edged with 
feathery foam, came slowly over the top, and, spread- 
ing across the azure sky, hid from view the sun. 
Then the vivid flash of the lightning lit up the hea- 
vens, and, subsiding, seemed to leave them blacker 

178 



2Life in the pueblo. 

than before, while the deep roar of the thunder re- 
echoed throughout the neighboring hills. Then, amid 
the lightning flash and the rumbling of the thunder, 
the clouds emptied their contents over the country. 
Being of great force, the storm was not of long dura- 
tion, and dispersed as rapidly as it had gathered, 
leaving the sky without a cloud. This midday rain 
is characteristic of the country, and during our stay 
in Taos each day brought a similar storm. 

Next morning was spent visiting some of the peo- 
ple. Near the little bridge that spans the creek, sev- 
eral squaws were washing clothes in the clear water; 
while others were bathing little children, who, when 
the trying ordeal was over, lingered around, pad- 
dling in the shallow stream. In a potato field near 
by, some bucks were hoeing, having just begun their 
morning's work. They nodded pleasantly to us, as 
we passed on to one of the large buildings. We en- 
tered a room in the sixth story, occupied by a young 
buck and squaw. Besides the usual pictures of the 
samts, the walls of the room were decorated with 
bows and arrows; and a rawhide shield hanging on 

the door especially attracted our attention. We had 

i8i 



Bmong tbe pueblo flnMans. 

tried to buy a vShield in Cochiti, but without success. 
After our experience in Santo Domingo, we had 
taken precaution to purchase some beads that the In- 
dians farther south valued so highly. 

When Lorenzo told us the man was willing to sell 
the shield, we offered the beads in payment for it; 
but to our surprise he shook his head, vSaying he 
wanted money. All through this pueblo it was the 
same, and our bead currency proved worthless. We 
bought the shield at the man's terms ; then, we visited 
one of the lower rooms, where a whole family were 
at home. Through Lorenzo we conversed with them, 
and tried to induce them to have a family group 
photographed on the little space before their door; 
but after sfreat urQ^ino', onlv the father and boy could 
be prevailed upon to face the much-hated kodak. 

Durino; the evening one of the guests of the hotel 

o o o 

called on us in our room. He was a man who had 

travelled extensively through the West during the 

early part of its history, and the many reminiscences 

of his life in the wilderness were very entertaining. 

At the time of his visit to us he was working a claim 

in Arroyo Hondo, a mining camp about twelve miles 

182 



Xite in tbe pueblo. 

north of Taos. He invited, us to take a trip to the 
mines, offering to let us dig and wash gold to our 
hearts' content; but as word had arrived that the 
strike was practically at an end, we decided to leave 
Taos in a day or two. 

Accordingly our last visit to the pueblo was made 
the following morning. As we lingered around near 
the river, waiting for some bucks who had previously 
agreed to be photographed, there came toward us 
from the stream a small child carrying in both hands 
an old tin cup, with which he had been playing. 

We levelled the kodak at the youthful subject, who, 
on seeing the camera pointed at him, stopped in his 
line of march and looked in amazement at having his 
escape cut off. As we stood by, afterward, to let the 
little one pass, his pent-up feelings gave way, and he 
cried as if heartbroken. His mother, a fine-looking 
squaw, at the sound of her child's cries, came from a 
house near by, seized the youngster by the hand and 
led him off, casting an angry backward glance in our 
direction. 

We had previously heard that the governors of the 

pueblos would allow the children to possess but one 

185 



Bmong tbc pueblo 1[n&fans. 

dress, and had frequently noted the absence of this, 
the only wearing apparel of the little ones. On one 
occasion we came upon a very small boy at play, who 
was apparently suffering from the effects of a severe 
cold and sore throat. Not a vestige of clothing 
adorned the well-developed form of the little fellow 
save a good-sized piece of red flannel clumsily wound 
around his neck. 

After i^hotographing the bucks, who with Lorenzo 
had arrived soon after our encounter with our little 
friend, we bade all good-by and returned to town. 

Having occasion during the afternoon to enter the 
plazuela around which the hotel is built, we saw 
quite a company collected at one end of the court- 
yard watching a little Indian boy dance. His father, 
a large buck from the pueblo, was seated in the cen- 
tre, beating on an old tin pan and singing the usual 
Indian song, with peculiar nasal intonation. The 
boy had been dancing for twenty minutes, and after 
our arrival continued for fully ten more. When at 
last the dance ended he seemed perfectly exhausted, 
and fell in the arms of his mother, who was standinp- 
by proudly watching her boy. 

1 86 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 

Our trip to Embudo next morning was enlivened 
by the antics of a pair of young bronchos with which 
the journey was to be made. The load, consisting of 
five people, the baggage and a bale of hay, together 
with the weight of the wagon, was enough to warrant 
a slower rate of vSpeed than that with which the young 
horses dashed off, but they seemed not to mind the 
weight in the least. At a sharp curve in the road 
the driver found it impossible to guide the horses 
around the bend, and the wagon was pulled over an 
embankment. The horses then started running over 
the plain, and in crossing a ditch the chain holding 
the body of the wagon on the truck snapped. Mean- 
while the men of the front seat pulled on the lines, 
nearly drawing the wagon body over on the excited 
animals. When the horses finally quieted down, and 
the wagon had been pulled on the road, the driver 
fixed the chain with hay wire, and another start was 



Bnioiui tbc pueblo llnDiane. 

made. The horses again rushed off at great speed, 
breaking the newly-repaired ehain as we were de- 
scending a steep hill with a rocky incline on one 
side and a high embankment on the other. The 
only thing to save us from being dashed to pieces 
was to run the horses up the embankment, and in 
doing this we were almost thrown from our seats. 
Fully realizing that to continue the journey in this 
way meant certain death to the whole party, the 
driver returned to Taos for another team, and in 
about an hour a fresh start was made with a pair of 
sturdy grays. 

When about ten iniles from Taos three Indians 
rode toward us, driving a large bunch of cayuces. 
They stopped as they neared us, and, although we 
were not familiar with one another's language, they 
gave us to understand that they were Navajoes on 
their way to Taos to trade their horses with the In- 
dians there. They seemed friendly, and were much 
interested in the kodak we carried, not obiecting to 
have a picture taken. 

When driving through Rinconado a large shep- 
herd dog ran out of a house at the horses. Before 

190 



IbomcwarO J3oun&. 

he could do any harm, however, one of the six- 
shooters came quickly into service, and with a yelp 
the dog whirled around in the road, like a pin wheel, 
and dropped dead at his master's feet. The man, a 
Mexican, on hearing the shot, had rushed out only to 
see his dog breathe its last. He threw both hands in 
the air and wildly shouted after us ; but as our knowl- 
edge of Spanish was not very extensive, we could 
only by his actions gather the drift of his conversa- 
tion. He was thoroughly excited, and his voice could 
be heard calling after us until the village was lost to 
sight. 

Arriving in Embudo, we boarded the little train, 
and after a pleasant trip down the caiion reached 
Santa Fe. 

With the mail that had accumulated during our 
absence was a letter from a ^Mexican lawyer, who had 
been engaged by the Jew from whom we had hired 
the old horses to deliver the following notice : 

Santa Fe, New Mexico. 
Dear Sir: — You are respectfully informed that 
there has been placed in my hands for collection a 
claim against you for seventy-five dollars, in favor of 

193 



Bmong tbe pueblo UnDians. 

& vSon, of this city, for killing one horse. 

This claim is long overdue, and your creditor insists 
that the matter must be adjusted immediately, and I 
trust that you will at once arrange for its payment, 
saving thereby the trouble and costs consequent to a 
suit at law. Awaiting an early response, 

I remain, respectfully yours, 



Atty. -at-law. 

This letter was the first intimation we had of the 
demise of the old black, who in death was so much 
more valuable than he had been during his life — hav- 
ing been purchased by his late owner, we were told, 
five years before, for six dollars. 

Refusing to comply with the polite demands of the 
Mexican and the jew, we were summoned to appear 
in court the following week. Business of an urgent 
nature, however, necessitated our return to the East, 
and, giving bonds for a representative to appear, we 
left vSante Fe. A week later we reached New York — 
our trip a pleasant memory. 

A new interest has been awakened in us by the In- 
dian ; his marked contrast to his white neighbors, his 

194 



1F3omcvvar& JSounD. 

customs, many of which date back to the time when 
he was the sole possessor of the soil, and the great 
problem — his future — make him a subject of imiver- 
sal interest and of deepest thought. 

With the beauty and grandeur of our great West- 
ern country, we were most forcibly impressed. 
Great sweeping prairies, majestic hills towering 
heavenward, and deep fertile valleys, all combine to 
make a harmonious and sublime picture that fills the 
beholder with awe and delight, and causes him to 
realize how wholly inadequate is his power to convey 

in a full sense a true idea of the wonders of the West. 

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